10/1/19
NATIONAL
ISSUES
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(Including Emails & Twitter)
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IMPEACHMENT
INQUIRY: Congressional
Democrats have finally put Trump on his back foot and are pressing forward with
investigating his attempt to solicit Ukraine's help in gathering
opposition research on a Democratic opponent. Yet, just as they are gathering
some momentum in their fight to check this corrupt and authoritarian president
at last, they have now gone on a 2-week recess! They promised to
keep investigating but given our current frenetic news-cycle driven
environment, and Trump's clever instincts for playing the media, keeping
control of the national narrative will be nigh-impossible without a constant
stream of reports, on-camera appearances, and hearings. https://www.npr.org/2019/09/27/765085075/lawmakers-head-home-for-2-weeks-but-impeachment-inquiry-rolls-on We
need to tell our MoCs, as well as leaders Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi, that
this is no time for a recess. They need to get back to Washington asap and
get busy impeaching Trump and protecting us!
IMPEACHMENT: On Sunday night and Monday morning, Trump took to
Twitter to liken the impeachment efforts against him to treason and to quote a
pastor who said that civil war will result (among many other hideous
sentiments):
https://apnews.com/f7ba2667deda489ea7eb3e173944e734 Let’s 1) call the White House daily to ask
for Trump’s resignation: 202-456-1111. As a reminder, these are volunteers at
the comment line – let’s thank them and be brief. We need not say our name and
can just note that we are calling for the president’s resignation. 2) stay in
regular contact with our MoC to say that we expect impeachment to proceed as
the details worsen and that we are concerned that the president is both
breaking down and inciting violence. 3) contact the Department of Justice to say that
we expect Attorney General William Barr to resign due to his engagement in
corrupt and potentially treasonous actions: https://www.justice.gov/contact-us
and 4) consider attending/organizing a
pro-impeachment rally in our own community to build visibility for the
issue: https://www.impeachnow.org
ASK REPUBLICAN
LAWMAKERS TO TAKE A STAND ON SAVING OUR DEMOCRACY: So far, very few Republicans have come out in
favor of the Congressional impeachment inquiry started last week, despite
blatant evidence from the transcript of Trump’s call and the whistleblower
complaint, what Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff called a “smoking gun,”
that Trump engaged a foreign power to investigate a political opponent and the
White House covered up the information by putting the transcript of the call in
a secure classified server. https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/463311-gop-battens-down-the-hatches-after-release-of-trump-whistleblower-complaint.
Considering, the hoopla over Hillary Clinton’s email habits, it’s time to call
out every single Republican lawmaker on their duplicity and tell them that
their job is to protect our democracy from illegal activities and abuse of
executive power, regardless of whether their party or the opposing party is at
fault. Let’s make sure the Republican legislators and state officials in our
area know exactly where we stand and what we expect from them.
WHISTLE-BLOWER
COMPLAINT: For those of us
who have not yet read through the whistle-blower complaint, or who have
different accessibility needs, there is now an audio recording of the complaint
available on Soundcloud. We can listen to it here. If our MoC have not yet read through the complaint,
let's also forward the recording to them.
CITIZEN JOURNALISM TO
BOOST IMPEACHMENT: Swaying
public opinion toward impeachment is crucial to winning the long game. Ordinary
citizens can help. We can use October’s scheduled Congressional recess to
get our GOP representatives and senators on record—on video—answering or
avoiding the question, “If a President asks a foreign government to investigate
a political rival, to you believe that that amounts to abuse of presidential
power?” To give our video a viral boost, we can then share it with DemCast by posting
it on social media with the hashtag #DemCast and also #DemCastXX, substituting
your state’s abbreviation for XX (example: #DemCastTX for Texas). Learn
more here: https://demcastusa.com/2019/09/29/%f0%9f%9a%a8-apply-pressure-get-your-gop-rep-senator-on-video-excusing-trumps-crimes/ we can find our Town Halls here, in
Indivisible’s guide:
https://indivisible.org/resource/town-hall-guide We also can use this thorough guide to
“birdogging”, tracking down our often elusive Representatives, asking them
pointed questions and getting their answers recorded and broadcast through the
media: https://peoplesaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/The-new-town-hall-birddogging-2017.pdf
TELL CONGRESS TO
REPEAL NRA’s TAX-EXEMPT STATUS: A
report conducted by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) revealed that the NRA underwrote
political access for Marina Buttina and Alexander Torshin, foreign nationals
whose political activities attempted to influence American foreign policy. https://www.npr.org/2019/09/27/764879242/nra-was-foreign-asset-to-russia-ahead-of-2016-new-senate-report-reveals?
Buttina was later
arrested and pleaded guilty to conspiracy. As usual, Republicans are doing
nothing, and calling the report overblown, when they should be losing their
tax-exempt status. Let’s tell our MoCs to stop turning a blind eye and
sanction the NRA for violating the terms of its tax-exempt agreement.
DEMAND SENSIBLE GUN
CONTROL DESPITE NRA DEAL WITH TRUMP: Last Friday, Trump met with the NRA to ask for financial support in
defending against his impeachment. The NRA promised to come to his defense, but
in return asked him to back off any gun control legislation. https://www.businessinsider.com/nra-trump-discussed-financial-support-not-backing-gun-control-nyt-2019-9.
Now more than ever, we need to push our legislators to act despite this new
leverage from the NRA and call attention to how Trump is willing to put his own
political interests ahead of the right of people to be safe in schools and
churches.
SEND A POSTCARD TO SUPPORT
IMPRISONED WHISTLEBLOWER REALITY WINNER:
One of the first people
to warn us about Russian interference in our elections was whistleblower
Reality Winner, a veteran and former cryptolinguist for the NSA. Neither
the FEC, nor Senate Intel, nor the States who had been attacked, nor the public
knew about the Russian interference in the election until she released the
information. For her courageous act, she is now serving a five-year-and-three-month
sentence, the longest ever imposed for releasing government information to
the media. There are many less
courageous people in the current administration. https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/trump-impeachment-whistle-blower-mattis-maguire-kelly-20190929.html Recently, Reality’s mother asked for
postcards of support to keep her spirits up.
Let’s send postcards to encourage and support whistleblower Reality
Winner, who sacrificed her freedom to get the story of Russia’s interference in
our elections. Reality Winner, #22056-021,
Carswell Federal Medical Center, P.O. Box 27317, Fort Worth, Texas 76127. (h/t Postcards for America: https://www.facebook.com/groups/postcardsforamerica/We
can also find them on Twitter: @postcards4USA
POSTCARDING: From one of our own – Here are
this week’s issues/addresses write-ups for postcarding: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jnEvKAda7a3vW7Xcxfyo9lYD5oMRSpDNA03RCaErLZA/edit Look
them over and choose the ones that speak to you.
CLEAN OUT THE SWAMP: Here’s a company that wants to do so literally
and figuratively. “Instead of trying to boycott every one of these companies to
punish them for their bullsh*t, what if we created our own companies that
funded the politics we actually do like? That’s our plan here at We
Voted®. The idea is simple. When you buy our products we take 50% of the
profits and use them to fund direct political action against these corrupt
right-wing a**holes.” Buying cleaning products has never been so political (or
salty!). We can sign up for their monthly supplies kit here: https://www.wevoted.com/
RAPE KIT BACKLOG: Since 2004, the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog
Elimination Act has been passed and reauthorized by Congress with bipartisan
support. This act authorizes federal grants for DNA processing, to end the
backlog of untested rape kits (trigger warning: rape- https://www.rainn.org/articles/debbie-smith-act).
Earlier this year, the Senate passed the 2019 reauthorization (S. 820), but the House has yet to do so, with funding set
to expire on September 30th. Let's contact our representatives in the
House and tell them we want the Debbie Smith Act (H.R. 777) to be reauthorized ASAP. If our representatives
are hosting a coffee hour or townhall while on recess, let's tell them
in-person.
FEDERAL
ELECTION COMMISSION (FEC): The membership of the FEC, an independent regulatory agency, created by Congress
in 1975, designed to enforce campaign finance law, has been permitted to
dwindle, perhaps in the hopes it just disappears. On Friday, the FEC Chair,
Ellen Weintraub attempted to publish the commission's weekly digest and its
publication was denied. This is unprecedented. The weekly digest
included her piece, “Draft Interpretive Rule Concerning Prohibited Activities
Involving Foreign Nationals". https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/09/28/elections-chief-says-gop-colleague-blocked-wide-release-her-foreign-activity-memo/ Consequently,
Weintraub tweeted the entire weekly publication:
https://twitter.com/EllenLWeintraub/status/1177720300550721536
Especially given the seriousness of this issue at the present time, and
the cover-up mentality in DC, we need to contact our Senators asking them to
revive this commission and to speak out against the censorship of this
document.
STATE DEPT
INVESTIGATES CLINTON EMAILS, AGAIN:
While Trump yells “witch hunt” about the impeachment inquiry, a much more
obvious witch hunt is being overseen by his secretary of state Mike Pompeo, who
has asked that 130 current and foreign officials who worked for Hillary Clinton
be questioned by the bureau overseeing diplomatic security. The
investigation is examining whether these employees used proper classification
and secure channels when they forwarded routine emails, although, according to
the NY Times, “The emails were on subjects that were not considered classified
at the time, but that have been or are being retroactively marked as
classified”: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/29/us/politics/hillary-clinton-email-server-state-department.html or https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/463525-state-dept-ramps-up-probe-into-clinton-email-server
None the 130 have been found legally “culpable,” but their employment is put at
great risk:
https://www.wnyc.org/story/hillary-clintons-emails-are-once-again-under-investigation
Although Trump seems still to hope he can whip up a Clinton scandal to take
attention away from him, perhaps we should tell the State department to stop
wasting their time and our money: (202) 647-6575 or 2201 C St NW,
Washington, DC 20520.
CONSTITUIONAL RIGHTS
FOR UNDOCUMENTED? The Southaven, MS police answered a domestic
violence call, accidently went to the wrong house and shot and killed 41-year-old
Ismael Lopez. “Now, attorneys for the city of Southaven are
using an unusual approach to try to persuade a federal judge to dismiss the $20
million civil rights lawsuit filed by Lopez’s widow. They argue that because
the victim was an undocumented immigrant, he wasn’t protected by the U.S.
Constitution.” “The U.S. Supreme Court
has repeatedly ruled that people present in the United States have certain
basic rights, regardless of their immigration status, affirming in two
frequently cited rulings that undocumented immigrants can’t be denied an education or due process in a court of law.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/09/27/ismael-lopez-southaven-mississippi-police-shooting-constitution/
and https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/2019/09/26/attorneys-man-killed-by-police-respond-unheard-city-defense/
Let’s ask the city of Southaven to
drop their defense of the lawsuit. Write
letters of protest to 1) Darren Musselwhite, Mayor, 8710 Northwest Dr, Southaven,
MS 38671 and 2) Board of Aldermen, City of Southaven, 8710 Northwest Dr., Southaven,
MS 38671
CLIMATE
CHANGE/MONTANA SNOW: Lest
we forget about climate change now that the Climate Strike is over, we need
only look at the forty inches of snow that blanketed Montana this past
weekend:
https://www.npr.org/2019/09/30/765694898/up-to-4-feet-of-snow-montana-hit-by-unprecedented-winter-storm Let’s
not stop pushing our MoCs to support the Green New Deal.
MINNEAPOLIS TRUMP RALLY: On Thursday,
Oct. 10, Trump will hold a rally at Target Center. While the GOP there is happy he is coming,
not so the mayor, Jacob Frey who issued this statement, “Under ordinary
circumstances, it would be an honor to welcome a sitting President of the
United States to Minneapolis and to showcase all our city has to offer on the
national stage. But these aren’t ordinary circumstances. Since taking office
President Trump’s actions have been reprehensible and his rhetoric has made it
clear that he does not value the perspectives or rights of Minneapolis’ diverse
communities. On October 10, our entire
city will stand not behind the President, but behind the communities and people
who continue to make our city – and this country – great. While there is no
legal mechanism to prevent the president from visiting, his message of hatred
will never be welcome in Minneapolis.” https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2019/09/27/the-president-is-coming-to-minneapolis-don-t.html
To show our support for the mayor,
let’s sign up for rally tickets, but not attend: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/rallies/min-mn-2019-oct/
ELECTION/VOTING
UPCOMING 2019 ELECTIONS: In
order to keep track of upcoming elections, we can use this from Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Elections_calendar
MAKE A PLAN FOR
2020 PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY: Let's go to
Headcount.org to
look for our state's primary election date and the associated date by which we
need to make sure we're registered.: https://www.headcount.org/deadlines-dates/
Let's make note of these dates on our 2020 calendars. Let's share this
information with others!
LOUISIANA
ELECTIONS: “Republicans in
Louisiana have gerrymandered Congressional Districts, pushed the state to the
brink of fiscal crisis, and blocked proposals to raise the minimum wage above
$7.25/hour,” says the organization Vote Forward. “Now they are trying to form
veto-proof majorities in the State Legislature to slash public funding for
critical programs. By writing letters to voters in key Swing Districts, we can
help fight for progress in Louisiana.” Statewide elections are this year
(primary election Oct 12, 2019; general election November 16). Let’s get out
the vote in Louisiana:
LET'S GET OUT THE
VOTE! Postcards To
Voters' leader Tony the Democrat promises us "a fast'n'furious round of
new campaigns." Let's check out the latest! Louisiana: Campaign
172: Lori Callais for State House. This is a primary where we have
a single Democrat running against three Republican challengers. Texas:
Campaign 173: Dr. Eliz Markowitz for State House is perhaps
the single most important election in Texas this year; it represents the only
pickup opportunity in the entire state for 2019. This campaign has just been
released; let's check the Postcards To Voters' site for the listing. Let's
write 5 cards for one or both of these campaigns today and let our
friends and family in Louisiana and Texas know about this opportunity to help
get out the vote.
FLIP VIRGINIA
BLUE! Postcards for
Virginia has teamed up with DemCast for a social media blast on Thursday, Oct.
3. The site gives us pre-made posts about the candidates that we can share or
we can create our own. Each pre-made post has a box that says "Share
on Twitter" and the 3 dots to the right of that give us the additional
options of Facebook and Instagram. (note: we do need to copy and paste from our
clipboards) Let's check out the DemCast tool and choose a post to share on
Thursday.
OCTOBER 2019
ELECTIONS—Our friends at
Political Charge (subscribe here: https://politicalcharge.org) remind us that there are
elections and voter registration deadlines in October in AL, GA, KY, LA, MS,
NE, NC, NH, NJ, SC, TN, VA—see details: https://politicalcharge.org/2019/09/30/elections-in-october-2019/ Our
power is greater, and our advocacy more effective, when we elect state and
local officials who champion the causes we care about. So, let’s vote,
and let’s encourage our family, friends, and neighbors to do so as well!
BE AN
ENVIRONMENTAL VOTER—We went
on strike for the climate. Now, let’s vote for those who will protect it. Let’s
sign up for election reminders so that we never miss another election: https://environmentalvoter.org
STATE/LOCAL
MI: BACKYARD
GRAVEL PITS? The Michigan Zoning Enabling Act (SB
431) is fairly troublesome, unless one is in the gravel business. This bill, if passed, “would make it
impossible for any county or township zoning board to deny a special use permit
for an open pit gravel mine or gas and oil drilling operation regardless of
residential or rural residential zoning.”
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/09/05/michigan-gravel-industry-mining-local-control/2207449001/ Let’s use this document and the contact
info in it, call and follow up with
emails the following members of the Senate Transportation Committee as well as
the Senate Minority Leader and Senator Hollier who introduced the bill: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s9BgzyNFextK2ynbheGpA-R5J2CBG41gnjrTAm3qQsc/edit
RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS
FRIDAY CLIMATE STRIKES: As
per Greta Thunberg’s tweet: “Last Friday over 4 million people striked for the
climate. This Friday we do it again! 170 countries and 6383 events so far in #weekforfuture
Find or register your strike at Fridays for Future: http://fridaysforfuture.org or local
websites.”
MARCH FOR BLACK WOMEN: Join the March
for Black Women on Saturday, October 5, in Washington D.C. We will drive
home the message that our everyday lives are political, and we are worth
fighting for. We can find more information
and toolkits here: https://www.blackwomensblueprint.org/copy-of-all-about-the-march
and follow their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/marchforblackwomen/
MARCH TO IMPEACH TRUMP: “By the
People issued a call for marches nationwide in support of impeachment on October
13th. Announced during a #ImpeachNow rally on
Capitol Hill alongside several Members of Congress, the call to action encourages
Americans to “take to the streets” and turn up the public pressure on Congress
to swiftly impeach Trump.” Let’s check
this out to learn more, find or organize and event, and find a toolkit to use,
too: https://www.bytheppl.us/impeachnow
END OF YEAR FUNDRAISING PLANNING WEBINAR COURSE: In this four-session October webinar we can learn the essential strategy, tactics, and tips for a successful End of Year Fundraising Digital Strategy in this 4-session live course. More info and application here: https://community.thedigitalplan.com/end-of-year-fundraising-digital-strategy/
IMMIGRATION CONFERENCE: From Justice
for Our Neighbors: Families separated at the border, threats of
increased deportations and ICE raids, enormous historic backlogs in
naturalization applications and all-time-lows in refugee admissions: All of
these issues and so many others will be at the forefront of topics
@nationalimmigrantintegrationconference this October 20-22, 2019 in
Detroit, Michigan. Let's learn more and register here: https://niicnewamericandreams.org/
DIGITAL ORGANIZING BOOTCAMP: Have you been trying to figure how best to
use digital organizing strategies and tactics to accentuate the organizing work
you do? Do you have a little experience working in digital organizing but want
to fine tune your strategies? Then, check
out this Digital Organizing Bootcamp to be held in Nashville, TN from Jan.
26 through Feb. 1, 2020. Applications
close at midnight November 30, 2019: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeD8tt90Os-YDuUK28q-NPCX1SJ_HEIPl6JbFkqBa4vpAlzDA/viewform
READING/WATCHING
These Scientists
Were Disbanded by the EPA — They Plan to Meet Anyway - https://www.ecowatch.com/scientists-epa-panel-air-pollution-2640669910.html
Indigenous teen
Autumn Peltier addresses UN: ‘We can’t eat money, or drink oil’ - https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-indigenous-teen-autumn-peltier-urges-un-to-respect-clean-water/
Calling in
Progressives: Racist
attacks on Mitchell and Stamp over the WFP’s Warren endorsement show ignoring
racism and sexism has been an epic fail - https://www.thenation.com/article/progressive-racism-attack-wfp/
Wise words from
Barbara Jordan on impeachment at the Watergate hearings: “Has the President
committed offenses and planned and directed and acquiesced in a course of
conduct which the Constitution will not tolerate? This is the
question. We know that. We know the question. We should now
forthwith proceed to answer the question.
It is reason, and not passion, which must guide our deliberations, guide
our debate, and guide our decision. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrqVBclJVco
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We can stay up to date
on Congress by checking out their schedules. a) The House publishes a
weekly schedule at The Weekly Leader (published and dated Friday)
as well as daily schedules at The Daily Leader. b) The Senate updates
their schedule daily at the Senate Floor Schedule
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